


Rhythm

by Heavens_Set_Fire



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alcohol, Dancing, Dragon Slayer things, Drinking, Eventual Smut, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Fighting, Fighting Kink, Gay, Gay Club, Gray is self conscious, Gray is sexy, M/M, Music, Natsu is not, Natsu isn't as stupid as he acts, Pole Dancing, Scheming, Slow Build, Slow Dancing, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-07-14 08:58:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7164551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heavens_Set_Fire/pseuds/Heavens_Set_Fire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gray Fullbuster, as discovered by Natsu (being the only sober guild member), is an impressive dancer even when incredibly drunk. Gray Fullbuster also refuses to show off said impressive dancing to anyone unless incredibly drunk. Natsu makes it his personal mission to get Gray to dance for him, in some way or another.<br/>Rated M for later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry to those of you who are waiting for the Dragon's Lullaby update! I'm having a lot of computer troubles at the moment and can't access all the chapters I have written out. It'll be updated as soon as that is fixed, I promise! Until then, I'll most likely be writing drabbles and random shorts and whatever the hell comes to mind. Requests are definitely open and definitely wanted, as are comments and constructive criticism!  
> Also, I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, etc. etc.  
> Hope you'll enjoy!

Gray was a rhythmic, musical person. Every movement held a purpose; was timed perfectly to a beat only the ice mage seemed able to hear. His body was meant to be in motion, muscles rolling underneath his pale skin.

And yet, he refused to dance. After more than a decade of the guild’s raucous parties filled with writhing bodies and pounding song, he’d only been seen dancing once, and it could hardly be called that at that point in the evening.

Cana had drunk him nearly under the table, and every last inhibition was stripped free. Much like his shirt.

He’d been tugged and pushed onto a tabletop, and drunkenly began to move to the music. Most of the guild laughed along (also drunkenly) at his faltering steps and swaying balance, until he had tipped off the table and onto a very irritated Elfman.

At which point Gray lost consciousness and a brawl broke out in the guild hall.

Natsu had been the one to drag him home that night, not that Gray remembered or that Natsu would admit. And the entire time he’d walked the dark streets of Magnolia to the ice mage’s flat, he’d wondered and thought to himself.

Which Natsu very, very rarely did.

He knew the unconscious man slung across his back better than anyone, probably knew things about him that Gray himself was unaware of. Constant fights for more than ten years had done that to them. They spent an absurd amount of time together, sharing space and breath and magical energy while fists flew and fiery flesh steamed against icy cold.

Why had he never seen Gray dance before? Even through his rival’s drunkenness, he could tell that the movements had come to him naturally and without pause. They would have to at the level of intoxication he had reached. He must’ve been relying almost completely on muscle memory.

While he pondered Gray’s obvious frequent and secret dancing, Natsu had a startling revelation. He was _upset_ that he had never seen Gray dance before. Despite how fucking drunk his guild mate was, Natsu had _liked_ watching him dance.

He abruptly stopped and straightened, nearly tossing the unconscious man on his back to the hard pavement.

_Oh, shit._

Returning to his previous pace and posture, Natsu brushed off his sudden revelation. The rest of the way to Gray’s flat, he struggled to keep it from his mind. Tried and failed.

When they at last reached the correct building and Natsu awkwardly twisted his arm to find his guildmate’s keys in his (miraculously still on) pants pockets. He jammed several keys at the knob leading to Gray’s room until finally, one slid in and clicked.

The dragonslayer stumbled through the door and unceremoniously dumped his rival on the first couch he saw. He sat across from his unconscious form and watched Gray’s naked chest rise and fall with each breath. Heard the inhales and exhales as they brushed along the inside of his throat, out into the air. Smelled the familiar stench of alcohol begin to fill the room as it filtered out of the ice mage’s lungs.

Natsu sighed helplessly and dropped his face into his hands, struggling internally to accept that perhaps, just perhaps, he was attracted to Gray.

Not that he had never noticed the other man’s handsome face, strong hands, chiseled body, refined moveme-

Oh _fuck._

Yes, he was definitely attracted to his teammate. His rival. His guildmate, his nakama, the man he had grown up alongside.

Well, not much he could do about that. Natsu raised his face from his palms, rubbing at his eyes and smirking slightly as he gazed on at a sleeping, snoring Gray.

Yes, Natsu could work with this.

His small smirk turned into a sharply fanged, animalistic grin as he let a few rumbling laughs tumble from his chest. It was decided, then.

The dragonslayer would get Gray to dance, someday. Sober. And for him, for Natsu and Natsu alone.

Oh _fuck_ yes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Finally got my laptop to work! Dragon's Lullaby is gonna have to wait until next weekend, at which point I'll have a new laptop. My current one is being awful, but it's pretty old anyway. I suck at naming chapters, so if any of you have suggestions, they'll probably be used! For all the chapters of literally anything I write, because I'm trash!  
> Anyway, really excited about these updates! Hopefully you'll all enjoy them as much as I do.   
> Comments make my week, so don't hesitate to do so! I'd also love to do requests, of whatever pairing and/or prompt your heart desires.  
> I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, etc. etc.  
> Enjoy!

“I fucking hate you. You know that, don’t you flame brain?”

“Yeah yeah, shut your mouth popsicle dick. And put your fucking pants on.”

“What’s the point? In a few minutes I’m going to be on stage and have to take them off again anyway.” Gray’s words slipped through harshly clenched teeth as he tugged his pants back on anyway. His shirt and boots were long gone, location unknown.

“Look, I didn’t realize it was a _strip_ dancing competition. Calm your ass, snowflake. Not like it’ll be difficult for you anyway.” Natsu retorted.

“I don’t see why you even had to enter us in a dancing competition in the first place.”

“’Cuz I want to win it?”

Gray shook his head and closed his mouth over an exasperated sigh. Stupid fucking dragon slayers and their stupid fucking need to compete in _everything_. It was completely Natsu’s fault that they were currently in a line behind the stage of a gay club.

He couldn’t remember the name of the town they were in, but he knew the moment they walked in for the job that it was a place with a booming nightlife.

Not that he was adverse to that. Gray had been in his fair share of dimly lit clubs, sweat slicked skin roiling in a sea of pulsing lights, pounding bass, and clouds of lust. Nearly every job he went on, if it took him close enough to a large enough town. So, yeah. Maybe more than his fair share.

It wasn’t that he enjoyed the club atmosphere, or that he was looking for a lay. Not that he never got propositioned, and he wasn’t proud to admit that on a few occasions he’d accepted. No, his visits to the clubs scattered across Fiore generally had only one purpose.

To dance.

He was a mage. He fought, drank, took on dangerous jobs for piles of jewels, and defended what he believed in. He loved his life. But he longed for the rhythm and movement that filled his home before the attack of Deliora. Longed for the music that filled Ur’s home and spurred him and Lyon to dance with her nightly, bodies spinning and laughter floating on the air.

He longed to dance and lose himself in the rhythms that could transcend languages, distances, life and death. In the northern countries, it had _been_ life. It had been the bridge between being and not, and it had been all of his people, all of him.

It was everything, to find a place within those waves of sounds and simply _be._ He was born into the music that Fiore lacked, and it hurt.

It was an ache that permeated everything, every part of Gray and his life. The ache of missing a part of yourself. He knew that he could talk to the guild, seek out  Vijeeter, perhaps dance with him. But it was merely a taste of what he needed, would only soothe the pain long enough for it to come back twice as strong.

Gray simply lived with the culture and the people that was lacking something so important to him. And yeah, maybe it made him a bit of an asshole sometimes. But he couldn’t help it. Letting the guild know, and allowing them to pity him and misunderstand, was not an option. But he needed it, even the littlest bit, to survive.

So he sought out the places he would not be recognized in the throng of flesh that moved to the beat. He buried himself in the warm, writhing bodies of the masses, multicolored beneath flashing lights and moving as one to a song easier felt than heard. It was different than what he wanted, what he needed. But it was enough.

He could lose himself for hours in the movement and too-loud music, could simply _be_. Gray kept that to himself, that sense of being and falling apart and becoming whole all at once as the music flowed through him and out in dance. As far as he could remember, he’d never once let another guild member truly see him dance. Hell, no one who even knew his name had seen him dance since Ur had cast Iced Shell.

But that was about to change.

Thanks to the dumbassery of the pink-haired pyro who had drug him off to a _pole and strip dancing_ contest in a gay bar. Natsu had likely not read any part of the sign outside other than the word ‘competition’.

Gray sighed, irritated at the flaming piece of shit he called his partner and at himself, for being excited. For being happy, feeling… relieved that one of his guildmates would finally _know_ about this side of him.

He rubbed at his eyes, ignoring Natsu’s excited humming and general restlessness in the line directly behind him. He would do this. Too late to back out now, anyway.

As a voice called out to the first in line to please step forward, Gray steeled himself and pushed through the curtains and onto the stage.

It was a simple enough setup. Black paint covered the wooden floors, scuffed by no doubt hundreds of feet and music stands and God knew what else.

In the center of the stage, but towards the front, there was a slightly raised metal platform. On it stood a single, shining pole. It was situated close enough to the audience that if he sat with his back against the pole, his feet would touch the edge of the platform, and if he laid flat on his back his feet would be completely off the stage.

The lights weren’t yet on above the stage. Gray could still see into the audience. Where a pink head was smirking at him.

He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course Natsu would find a way to sneak off to the audience, when he should be behind stage still. For such a noisy guy, he could be stealthy when he wanted. Unfortunately.

As he made his way towards the platform, a voice floated out over the club. The audience quieted marginally as the emcee announced the night’s events and the first contestant. The man stumbled a bit when he tried to introduce Gray, and he smirked. He hadn’t given them a name. Not one that could be read, at least.

It was written in a demon language and alphabet. Not that anyone would ever know, but its translation was-

“ICE PRINCE!” Someone hollered from the audience. His smirk fell into a slack jawed look of disbelief.

No fucking way. Gray narrowed his eyes at the culprit. Natsu. The flaming bastard was going to get a foot up his ass after Gray won this stupid competition.

The emcee laughed a little, and asked if that was okay with him. He gave a curt nod.

“Alright, then, Ice Prince. What earned you that name?”

Gray was pissed enough, might as well put that emotion to good use. He felt his magic building up and up inside of him, until finally-

“Ice make: WAVE!” He let it all go with a shout, watching proudly at the open mouthed stares he got from the audience. His ice rolled away from him, towards the edge of the stage, and folded back on itself.

With a snap of his fingers, it shattered and fell to coat the stage in sparkling diamonds.

“That… was certainly… Alright! Ice Prince! Are you ready?” The emcee did not wait for an answer. The lights flashed on blindingly above him, and he stepped onto the crushed, shimmering carpet of ice that surrounded him.

A moment later, a familiar song began to shake the air around him. And Gray began to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Let me know in the comments how this is turning out.   
> I'm not sure what song I should have Gray dancing to... any suggestions, my friends?


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu was dumbstruck. Sure, he had seen Gray’s magic at work countless times. Hell, he’d been on the receiving end of it more times than not. But he had never seen it like this.

It had shattered perfectly, catching the low lights of the club and sprinkling onto the stage floor like a carpet of gems. The dragon in him wanted to lurch forward, roll in and hoard them from the world.

But that was nothing compared to Gray.

He was coated in his own ice, shards and flakes sticking to his slightly sweat dampened skin. They were in his hair, shining as he shook his head slightly, dusted across his face and those cheek bones, littered his neck and collarbone and he wanted to _bite_ where they jumped and flickered in the light atop his pulse point.

The dragon in him wanted to absolutely _ravage_ the jewel encrusted man before him, lock him away in a den in a mountain all to himself. Capture and hoard him and all the pretty little noises he could coax from that mouth…

 

Natsu shook his head, pink hair flying as he struggled to get a hold of himself and his inner dragon. It didn’t work terribly well.

Natsu raked his eyes down that ice covered body as the emcee made some meaningless comment and the lights above the stage came to life. He inhaled sharply, the added brightness making the ice dance across his sculpted chest, flashes of light twinkling in and out of existence along the planes of his defined abdomen, and as the music began to pulse he watched a single droplet of melted ice roll down the ‘V’ of his hips, and-

Gray was moving. No, not moving.

Gray was _flowing._

Natsu did not know the song. He did not recognize the beat or the words, or the way Gray stalked towards the platform in the center of the stage.

But he knew that body. He recognized the coiling muscles and tendons tightening beneath that cool skin, and the confident smirk that adorned Gray’s face.

His mouth went dry as Gray danced his way onto the platform. His feet slid smoothly across the icy floor of his making, and his hips swung in an absolutely _mesmerizing_ manner, pants slung low across them.

A hand carded through his messy black locks, hips cocked towards the audience and leg popping up and down as he moved his hips. Gray shot some man in the audience a relaxed grin and rolled his hips slowly, the hand in his hair now trailing down his own torso. It fell just before reaching his waistband.

He let his hair fall into his face, and began a series of smooth, sensual body rolls as he dropped himself to the floor, legs spread wide as he ran a single finger over the top edge of his trousers .

The audience gasped as suddenly he placed a hand on the icy ground behind him, and kicked himself over it to be right next to the metal pole. He licked his lips and glanced about the audience, eyes glazed and body rocking smoothly to the music.

Natsu gulped and felt his eyes widen,  watching Gray circling the pole with a swing in his step. Calloused hands loosely gripped the shining metal, slowing his descent as he slid down its length. When his ass sat atop his heels, he arched his back and grasped the pole behind him firmly.

His free hand trailed down his own chest, ghosting along the lines of his stomach and following the ‘V’ of his hips to the waistband of his pants. Gray spread his legs a little wider and let his tongue slowly trace his lips, playing lightly with one of the buttons on his trousers.

Then he’s suddenly up again, both hands on the pole and he’s lifting himself off the ground and pushing off to spin, his legs curled toward his chest as he holds his own weight out horizontally as he rotates before the audience.

And then Gray is on the floor again, his hips thrusting in time to the music as he lets his gaze scan the crowd before him. His eyes come to rest on Natsu for a minute, a smirk playing on his lips before he’s back at the pole again.

His body is a blur of movement and flowing muscles as he pulls and flips himself up the pole, only to slide sensually down it once more. When he’s on the ground, ice crunching beneath his bare feet, his hips are thrusting and hands are roaming, though his eyes seemed to have stopped.

Natsu does not miss that they’re usually focused on him, nor does it go unnoticed the way they’re half lidded and filled with a heat Gray rarely shows. But more than that, he notes that the ice mage looks... happy. At ease.

He looks like this comes naturally, like if he tried he wouldn’t just be garnering wolf whistles and shouts of approval. No, Gray wears an expression and moves in a manner that suggests that this is lazy, simply foreplay to the main event; that if you saw him then you’d be on your knees begging and moaning.

Natsu doesn’t doubt it for a second.

He lets himself go, giving in to the scent of lust and hormones that fills the air around him from the club-goers. It pisses him off, that they feel this way because of Gray. Because of his guildmate. His rival. His partner.

He lets out a possessive growl, a few of the men around him shifting away uneasily. Natsu smirks at that, and revels in the newfound space around his body. He lets his natural heat rise steadily, and looks up to try to catch Gray’s eye.

The ice mage is staring directly at him, hips gyrating as his back arches up against the pole. His dark eyes widen slightly in shock, and Natsu lifts a brow. Daring him.

Gray smirks back at him and suddenly he’s swinging on the pole, legs hooked around it and arms free, his back arched and head nearly touching the floor.  Each rotation brings his form closer to the ground, and his eyes close further.

Until he’s flipped himself off the pole in one smooth motion, and is kneeling in front of Natsu on the stage.

The dragonslayer’s eyes go wide and his breath catches for a moment, before he regains his composure and crosses his arms. His weight shifts from one foot to the other, and he lets one corner of his mouth lift in a crooked grin. He knows he looks feral.

The men around him are shifting further away, some consciously and others relying more on instinct. His eyes are wide, slit pupils blown wide in the dark of the club. Heat is rolling off of the dragonslayer in waves, his fangs are on full display, and his stance is domineering and uncaring of those around him.

Though he’s grinning, the other club-goers seem to know that he isn’t exactly a nonthreatening presence.

Natsu cocks his head to the side, eyes never leaving Gray’s.

The ice mage is on his knees on the floor, hips shallowly thrusting into the air to the dwindling beat of the music. One hand idly undoes the buttons of his pants. The other cards through his hair and traces his own lips, tongue slipping out to momentarily lathe around one finger, and then the hand is gone to trail over his guild mark.

His abs are flexed, holding his upper body off of the floor. His knees are spread, the balls of his feet pressing into the glittering floor of the stage, and his hips are still moving slightly to the movement. He’s perfectly posed, laid out just for the pink-haired man in front of him.

Natsu shifts slightly closer, and quick as lightning Gray has his hands fisted in the other mage’s scarf, hauling him halfway onto the stage with him. He releases the white fabric in favor of running his hands across Natsu’s clothed chest, leaning forward to ghost his lips over the other’s jawbone and what neck that’s exposed.

Gray suddenly lets go and stands, pushing Natsu back into the audience. And then he’s stalking away, the music completely faded out and the club’s patrons cheering and cat calling uproariously. At Gray’s very naked retreating figure.

No, scratch that. He’s wearing Natsu’s scarf. And nothing else. Natsu blinks.

When the hell did that happen? And why the fuck is the sight of Gray in nothing but his scarf sending heat straight between his legs? Ah, shit. Now he’s got a problem.

As if knowing exactly what’s going through his mind, Gray turns slightly before disappearing behind the curtain. He mouths the words _your turn_ , and winks. The curtains swish back into place behind him

Not good. Not good at all. He has to dance next. With his… problem.

Oh _fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What song do you guys think Gray danced to? And if you're interested in knowing what Natsu is gonna dance with, check out Freaks by Timmy Trumpet ft. Savage. It suits Natsu, I think.   
> Anyway! Leave a comment, and don't hesitate to make a request! It'd make my week!  
> =^-^=


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Got my new laptop! But, I'm super tired tonight! I work at a kids' summer camp, and the little shits are exhausting. (Considering the absurd amount of smut between fictional characters I read and write in my free time, perhaps I shouldn't work around children...) Any more writing is going to be done on Sunday, most likely. Maybe later, because I'm garbage and have been putting off some important assignments for a really long time! But luckily for you lovely people, I have a few chapters prewritten!  
> Sorry that there is no poledancing!Natsu yet. I need to heavily edit that before I post it, but I don't trust myself to accurately do that in my current sleep deprived state! Next update for sure!

Gray slides down the wall the instant he’s past the curtain. His legs are shaking, and he feels like he might puke. What the hell did he just do?

In front of _Natsu_ of all people?!

He groans and slams his head back into the wall, ripping the dragonslayer’s scarf from around his throat and clenching it tightly in his fists.

This was not going to be without repercussions.

He shuddered to think about what would happen if this got back to the guild. Not only the teasing he would be forced to endure, but they truly didn’t need to know about his dancing. They would ask who he learned from, what was he doing pole dancing in the first place, when had he learned, why had he never spoke of it? Gray did not want to deal with any of that.

Not to mention Natsu. On the best of days, he did not want to deal with the dragonslayer. But after that show he just put on? He never wanted to see Natsu again.

No, not true. He very much enjoyed _seeing_ the fire mage. He wasn’t exactly unattractive, and his fighting style was in its own right a complex and spontaneous dance.

No, he didn’t want to interact with Natsu. Not after the way he had felt those onyx eyes burning hot trails across his bare skin. Not after he had felt the heat around the dragonslayer, had felt the beginnings of a _purr_ starting in his chest when he’d skimmed his hands across it.

Gray groaned again, louder this time, and dropped his head to his knees. He could do this. Play it off as proving a point to the dumbass, nothing more and nothing less. It was all good.

He rose from his position against the wall and began wandering about in the darkness behind the stage, searching for a way out.

“Oi! Frosty the Snowman!”

“WHAT?!” Gray whirled around, teeth bared at Natsu. He blinked, and took a step back. He had been much closer than he sounded, but maybe Gray’s ears were still just a bit dulled from the pounding music a few moments before.

Natsu smirked, and stared pointedly at Gray’s crotch. “Ya might want ta put on some pants before you head out.”

Gray felt his cheeks heating up, and began to look frantically around for his pants. Until Natsu burst out laughing and shoved fabric at his bare chest.

“Fucking exhibitionist. Left these on the stage. Better get out there, or you’ll miss my act. Ice princess.” And with that, Natsu spun on his heel and set off for the curtains.

Gray shoved his legs into his trousers, and watched Natsu’s retreating figure. Just before he slipped fully through the curtains, he threw a look over his shoulder at Gray and gestured towards the audience.

That bastard. This was getting too famili-

Natsu fucking _winked_ when he mouthed ‘ _your turn_ ’ at the ice mage. Gray stood speechless for a moment.

Was this just Natsu reciprocating the silent challenge of movement to  music that Gray had initiated? Or was it him reciprocating something… more?

He clenched his hands tighter around the dragonslayer's scarf in frustration, and grit his teeth. The damn flame-brain was just too much to deal with sometimes. Nothing he could do about it right now, though.

Gray shook his head and ran to the audience. He was _not_ going to miss this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you who have stuck with this story so far! Your comments and feedback have been absolutely amazing for me to read, and I hope you all realize just how much I appreciate your views!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I've stopped being a trash human, for at least a little while! I'm going to update three chapters at once, because I'm just the greatest at consistently long chapters. Anyway, the long promised Poledancing!Natsu chapter will bu up in the next few minutes, so enjoy, leave a kudo, and if you'd like to make me insanely happy, a comment as well!  
> Also, my lovely proofreader and editor (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, JULES) is off doing something or other and i'm impatient as hell, not to mention I've made you guys wait long enough. So these chapters are going up with zero editing! Please let me know if you see any errors, so I can correct them!

Natsu decided that his guild members were right all along. He was an idiot. A complete and utter dumbass. Why in the name of all that was holy had he thought  _ that _ would calm Gray down? Yeah, right. His oh-so-subtle flirtations hadn’t really done a lot in that regard.

He could smell it in the air the instant that the music shut off and Gray was behind the curtain. The ice mage was completely, utterly terrified. Of nothing in particular, as far as Natsu could tell.

Well, until he actually thought about it for a moment.

Gray was probably freaking out because he had just pole danced and stripped in front of his friend, guildmate, and rival. And was probably losing his shit over the possible repercussions of that.

Gray did have a tendency to overthink and worry about nonsense like that. Though there was certainly no need for concern in this situation. If Gray wanted his actions to be nothing more than him accepting the challenge and letting his competitive side get the best of him, then that’s all Natsu would think of it as.

If he wanted this to be viewed as… something else, then Natsu was fine with that too. More than fine, actually. That had kinda been the whole point of him “accidentally” entering them in this contest.

He grinned to himself at the thought, continuing his purposeful stride toward the front of the stage.

The remnants of Gray’s ice crunched underfoot, and half-melted chunks littered the floor. The scuffed wood had a thin layer of water over nearly all of it, turning it slick and slippery. Natsu groaned to himself, deciding he would deal with that particular issue when the emcee undoubtedly asked him the story behind his stage name.

As if on cue, the man’s voice filled the club as a light flicked on, and the attention of nearly everyone in the building was on him.

Oh hell yes. This, Natsu could do.

“Alright, folks! That was an absolutely stunning performance by Ice Prince! But now, we have a new contestant.”

Natsu let his fangs show as he smiled wider, and lifted a hand towards the audience in greeting.

“Yo.” A few laughs bounced around the audience, and Natsu cocked his head in the direction of the emcee.

“Ah, yes. Thank you, mister… Fire Dragon! Oh wow! What a follow up to the Ice Prince! We’ve got fire and ice on the stage tonight, folks!”

Natsu was affronted. They made a huge fuss over Gray’s stage name, let him be an over dramatic piece of shit and woo the audience with his whole angsty ‘cooler than you’ wizard act, but completely breeze past him?!

Uh-uh. No way in  _ hell _ was he gonna let Gray outdo him.

“Oi! Emcee! What the fuck’s your deal, man? I don’t get ta explain my name, but you let popsicle dick over there give a live demonstration?” Laughter echoed around the club, and Natsu narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

It was a serious deal, dammit! He deserved a chance to blow away the audience with his magic, too.

The emcee sighed into the mic, frustrated with the immature man. “Go for it, kid.”

Natsu shrugged. Not the prompting he was wanting, but it’d do.

He let his magic surge towards the surface of his skin, up towards his shoulder blades, weaving its way through the muscles in his back and core and chest, jumping along his spinal column and connecting to nerves and then finally bursting free.

He smirked at the shocked faces in front of him, and crossed his arms.

Aside from the part where he engulfed his entire body in flames, he rarely used his magic like this. It wasn’t terribly useful in a fight, and that’s pretty much all he ever did.

No, this magic was purely for looks and entertainment. Plumage, of a sort. Not used in a terribly practical way, but awesome and breathtaking nonetheless. Sort of like the display feathers of peacocks.

But the wings of flame he had fashioned for himself were about a million times more badass than any stupid bird’s ever could be. He was a dragon, after all. Not some flying, feathered rat.

He couldn’t fly with them, or fight or really do much besides move them around impressively. But that’s all he needed them for. They were his way of staking a claim, and defending it from potential rivals. 

Which was pointless, seeing as how Sting and Rogue were gay as fuck for each other, Gajeel was completely and utterly smitten with Levy, Cobra was off following Jellal and his band of misfits like a puppy, Wendy wasn’t going to seek out a mate for a while to come, and Laxus was… well. 

As far as Natsu could smell, Laxus currently had  _ two _ mates that Natsu wasn’t touching with a hundred foot pole, seeing as how the lightning dragonslayer made noises reminiscent of a chainsaw on steroids whenever he or Gajeel so much as looked at either of them. As if Mira wasn’t capable of scaring off anyone who showed the slightest interest in her ‘secret’ boyfriends.

Regardless of their general uselessness (At least they had evaporated the water from the stage) the audience loved them. Cheers and catcalls greeted his ears, mixed with boos and disappointed cries as he let them burn out and reigned his magic back in.

The music was starting, and despite how naked he already felt, having let Gray make off with his scarf, he had to start his stripping and get his ass over to that pole.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poledancing!Natsu is all I can say, and all you need to know. Enjoy!

Well. Gray certainly hadn’t been expecting  _ that _ from Natsu when he threw his hissyfit over not getting to explain his rather predictable name. 

He had to admit, it was impressive. The wings were honestly beautiful, shifting their colors as currents of differently heated flames ran through them like… like blood. There were fucking  _ scales _ on his wings, also made of fire. But Gray could see through them, see the tensing and slackening of the flaming tendons, see the blood of flames coursing through them, as Natsu swept them forward and back, the rest of his body completely engulfed.

It was beautiful.  _ He _ was beautiful, Gray realized with a start. 

He hadn’t known that Natsu’s blundering, melee specific, inaccurate and immensely destructive magic (and personality) was capable of this delicacy, attention to detail, and complexity. The wings were a living thing.

No, they were more than that. They were an extension of the dragonslayer, a part of him through and through. Now that he was watching for it, Gray could see the sculpted chest, neck, and shoulders of his guildmate reacting in time to the beats of his wings of pure heat, pure magic.

It was magnificent.

Until Natsu let them fall, as the first thrums of his song filled the room and quieted the audience. He was shocked by the disappointment that filled him. He had rather liked those wings, wouldn’t have minded them staying on for a bit longer… They suited his dragonslayer.

Wait. Where the hell did that come from?

Gray gulped at the positively predatory look on the fire mage’s face, and once again balled his fists into the fabric clenched in them. He growled under his breath, shooting a look directly at Natsu’s face to make sure he wasn’t watching.

Then he wound the scarf around his neck, and began weaving his way through the crowd to get closer to the stage. Natsu was beginning to move, and he wanted to remember this for a good while.

The flame-brained dragonslayer sure as hell could fight, and what was fighting if not a crude and rudimentary type of dance between opponents? Gray incorporated his dance into his fighting style. Time to see if Natsu incorporated his fighting into his dance.

Having reached the front of the crows, Gray crossed his arms over his bare chest and smirked up at Natsu. He gazed intently at the dragonslayer, hoping to catch that slit-pupiled gaze.

He succeeded, and Natsu chose that moment to flash him a sharp toothed grin. Gray’s eyes widened marginally as the song’s bass dropped and the fire mage in front of him vaulted himself into the air.

That son of a bitch  _ knew _ this song. He had his dance planned out from the start, didn’t he?

Natsu landed in a crouch, and Gray held back a shudder. Those onyx eyes roamed over him, before their owner leapt from the floor and was suddenly a blur of motion.

In less than a heartbeat he had made his way over to the pole, and cast a lopsided grin at Gray before grasping his hands firmly around it and jumping to be above them, facing the floor with his feet in the air. He kicked and jumped, vest falling down to expose sculpted shoulders and a beautifully muscled back that strained as Natsu used his momentum to make his way up the pole.

When he had reached the top, he pressed both sandal clad feet to the pole and removed one hand, crouching completely horizontally. His free hand carded through his pink locks, mussing his hair and letting some of it fall into his face.

And then he was falling, having kicked off  of the pole with his feet and pulled himself into a flip. A few audience members gasped, as he spread his fingers and solidly landed in a handstand turned handspring, bringing himself upright and letting his vest fall back over his impressive body.

He was still only long enough to roll his hips sensually once or twice, before he was flipping again, landing on the pole and using his momentum to spin around it. 

Natsu’s hair covered his wide eyes, but not the animalistic grin that spread across his face. He was clearly enjoying this, writhing and twisting his body to the music to work himself up the pole only to fall or flip back down and repeat the whole process again.

As the words to the song started up once more, he pushed off the pole once more and flipped through the air only to roll into a crouch and pause momentarily, slit-pupiled eyes scanning the crowd. They fell on Gray, and Natsu’s grin grew impossibly wider.

He growled and rose, stalking towards the other man and stepping off the stage into the audience. Natsu continued walking towards Gray, despite the ice mage taking several instinctive steps backward.

This was a predator. And for some reason, it was interested in  _ him _ . 

Natsu laughed when Gray gulped audibly, coming to a stop and leaning his face towards the other man.

“I think you have something of mine, snowflake.”

Gray could not stop the shiver that traveled up his spine at that voice. He had never heard Natsu like this before. Sure, he had been there more than once when the dragonslayer blurred the line between man and beast, had felt the air heat and his heart pound as Natsu’s anger grew and his words became snarls and growls.

But this was different. The heat behind those words had never been there before. The eyes had not been half lidded, nor had those impossibly warm, calloused hands ghosted over his bare skin as fangs dug into Natsu’s bitten bottom lip.

He wanted it to be  _ his _ teeth there, not the dragonslayer’s. Wanted to bite and mouth at that face, the ears hidden in pink hair, trace his tongue along the pulse in Natsu’s neck, sink his teeth into the flesh above the newly exposed collarbone and-

Oh shit, no this was bad this was bad this wa-

“Snowflake. Calm the fuck down. I’ll trade ya, kay?”

And Natsu was gone, having pulled the scarf from Gray’s neck and draped his vest over the ice mage’s shoulders. In a split second he was back on the stage, loose white pants slung low on his hips that were now moving enticingly to the music. 

He was all motion, coiling muscles and flying limbs coated in a thin sheen of sweat that pulsed in the lights of the club. His eyes were wild, and the crowd grew uneasy as he seemed to work himself into a frenzy. Laughter occasionally bubbled from his mouth, and it clashed with his harsh, yet controlled and beautiful, movements.

Even those who had never once seen a skilled mage fight, could tell that the pink-headed man in front of them was drawing moves directly from the fights he surely must have fought, and won.

Gray didn’t notice the growing unease, or heat around them, or really much of anything aside from his pounding heart and the realization he’d had. 

He didn’t know why it took this much for him to realize, to notice what was happening. Why hadn’t he seen it before? The flow of Natsu’s magic, starting from deep within him and building up until bursting free like water from a dam, the way he shifted his weight when getting into stance for combat.

He’d seen the fire mage dance once or twice, generally to get laughs out of their guildmates, but he reasoned it was around Galuna, when they celebrated with the demon village, that he had actually begun to notice the beauty, the familiarity, of the way Natsu moved when he was intent on something, be it dancing with their hosts or pulverizing enemies.

But regardless of how long it took him to truly recognize it, the fact still remained for Gray.

He was attracted to Natsu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, if you see any errors, let me know so I can correct them! Also, the song I had in mind for Natsu was Freaks by Timmy Trumpet Ft. Savage, as I think I mentioned a bit earlier in this fic! The dancer I used for inspiration whilst writing Natsu's scene was Dimitry Politov, the winner of the World Pole Championships 2015. The guy is freakin amazing, check him out!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one for this week! If you notice any errors, tell me, leave a kudo and a comment, etc etc.  
> Enjoy their (read:Natsu's) idiocy and inherent ability to fuck everything up!

Natsu couldn’t help himself. He knew Gray would be completely checked out the second that he smelled the arousal- and sudden shock- pouring off the ice mage. It was hilarious! And working out wonderfully, so far.

Gray had realized that Natsu perhaps had an interest in him, one that he might have for the fire mage as well. That had kinda been the whole point of coming here, actually.

It wasn’t often that he thought ahead, no less planned things out, so he didn’t really have much for the next half minute of the song. That apparently didn’t matter to the men in the audience.

Sure, some of them started looking a bit uneasy when he had run out of actual dance moves and just started pretending he was sparring with Gray, but a lot had looked insanely turned on by it. And smelled it, which Natsu wasn’t terribly pleased about. Not much that was less enjoyable to smell than a couple hundred sweaty, horny men crammed into a single room.

Regardless, he couldn’t exactly just waltz off the stage now that he had accomplished his goal. He had his pride as a wizard of Fairy Tail, after all. So he resolved to let himself go, to dance with the exchange of kicks and fists from his imaginary opponent.

Maybe he let himself go a little too far. There was some smoke rising not far from where he was, and he had a sinking feeling in his gut.

He turned slowly, eyes widening when he caught sight of the flaming curtain. 

Oh, shit. This was bad. He hadn’t even noticed when he’d started to use magic, he’d been so involved in his incredibly hot and exciting imaginary sparring match.

If Erza caught wind of this…

He’d be dead. Twelve times over.

So he ran to the curtain, swallowed the flame, ignored the screams and protests of him doing so, and slammed his fists together in a flash of intense heat and light. He made sure nothing else ignited and no one got hurt too badly by reaching outward with his senses, and sprinted through the chaos towards Gray.

The ice mage was coming out of his stupor, brought to by the screams and angry yells of the emcee over the microphone, not to mention the general disarray of the nightclub around him. He blinked once, twice, three times. And punched Natsu solidly in the face with a fist encased in ice.

“WHAT THE FUCK, YOU USELESS PIECE OF FROSTY SHIT?!” Natsu’s roar was deafening, and probably heard by all the inhabitants of the club despite the loud panic spread throughout it.

“NATSU. THE FUCK DID YOU DO?! IS THAT SPACE BETWEEN YOUR EARS COMPLETELY FILLED WITH ASH, OR HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN THIS STUPID?”

“SHOVE A HUNK OF ICE UP YOUR ASS.” And with that, Natsu lifted Gray with one arm, slung him over his shoulder, and raced for the nearest exit.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check my bio for notes. Sorry, I'm sick and tired and lazy af. Love you guys for reading my fic anyway!

Gray wished that for once in his life, he could have normal friends. With normal reactions to normal situations, who didn’t  _ light a fucking gay nightclub on fire _ and run away, prompting local authorities to assume arson and start a manhunt.

He was going to die today, because of Natsu.  There was no way in hell that Erza hadn’t heard about this yet. It was only a matter of time, before she found them and killed them or the authorities found them and brought Erza in and  _ then _ she killed them. Probably painfully and slowly, ending with a beheading.

Hey, if he was already gonna face her wrath he might as well enjoy pummel Natsu’s smug look off his sorry excuse of a face while they was still breathing.

He swung an ice clad fist in Natsu’s direction, only to have it be caught by the wrist. Frustration welled up in him, followed quickly by despair. It was pointless. Gray let the ice melt away and let his fist fall from Natsu’s grasp.

He took a step back and sat on the ground, across from where his idiot companion was doing the same. 

“Oi. Ash-face.”

“Ya know, that insult really doesn’t work. Just sounds like you can’t correctly say ‘ass-face’, Popsicle.” Natsu was still grinning. Goddamn him.

“Why the hell’re you so smug? Erza’s gonna castrate you.”

Natsu paled at that, as though he hadn’t yet considered the red-headed mage’s reaction to the mess he had just made.

“Oh  _ fuck _ . I didn’t even think of it. She and Lucy are still here, aren’t they?”

“Yup. Out for ‘girl’s night’. With any luck, they won’t find out until we’ve had a chance to run far, far away from here.” Gray grimaced and sighed. They didn’t have any luck, and they both knew it.

Natsu shared a similarly forlorn expression from where he was slumped against a brick wall. He had deposited Gray back on his feet after leaving the club in such a hurry, grabbing his hand and sprinting onward. Gray had resisted, iced the fire in the club with his magic as best he could, and let Natsu drag him on.

He had trusted the dragonslayer’s keen senses to guide them to a suitable hiding place from the authorities. Though, he probably could’ve found this little back alley on his own. It was a shitty hiding spot.

They weren’t gonna survive the night.

Natsu appeared to have reached the same conclusion as Gray. He looked through the semi-darkness with slitted eyes, reflecting light like a cat’s would. It was unnerving. Even more so was the sharp-toothed grin that seemed to glow in the night.

Gray gulped, and Natsu broke into laughter.

“Hey, while we’ve both still got our balls and our heads attached to our body, I gotta tell you something.”

“I’m listening.”

Natsu’s grin returned, and his eyes closed before he pushed himself to his feet. Gray only watched as he rose and stretched languorously, studying the rippling muscles of his abdomen as the bones in his shoulders and back popped. His eye opened a sliver, and Gray knew he had been caught. 

“You gonna get on with it or not?” Gray could feel the flush spreading across his face and neck, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. This had been a rough night, and it was gonna take a lot more than that for him to give a damn.

“Sure thing, Snowflake.”

Natsu grinned impossibly wide and was suddenly surging forward, pulling Gray from his seat on the ground and slamming his bare back into the wall.

Yeah, that was enough. Gray certainly gave a damn now. He could hear his heartbeat thundering so loud that even had he not been a dragonslayer, Natsu surely could have heard it. As was, the pink-haired man had stopped moving, seemingly taking in the sights, scents, and sounds of his taller guildmate.

It didn’t last long. In an instant, he had his face pressed to the ice mage’s neck, inhaling deeply and poorly holding back a shudder. Gray barely caught the warm words ghosting over his cool skin.

“I won.” Gray tried to make a noise of indignation at this, only to have it turn into a gasp of shock and pleasure as Natsu rolled his hips forward, strong hands splayed over pale skin and gripping his hip bone hard enough that there were sure to be bruises.

And then Natsu’s mouth was latched onto him. The ice mage was stunned into absolute silence. There was no way in hell that this was happening.

No, the hot, wet tongue that was laving over his pulse point was certainly real, as were the sharp fangs that followed it with a harsh scrape and a quick nip. So were the hands fisting themselves in his hair, pulling his head down to meet warm, open lips in a sloppy kiss full of teeth and tongue and  _ heat _ .

It was messy and wet, and Gray did not care. It was wonderful; he never would have thought  _ Natsu _ of all people could kiss this well, rivalling even Loke for passion and intensity conveyed through teeth tugging on lips and quick, darting strokes with that talented tongue.

He could not stop his hands, roving across those muscular shoulders, carding through and desperately grabbing at surprisingly soft pinks locks. Nor could Gray stop the breaths and gasps escaping his mouth, dangerously close to becoming moans.

Natsu did not seem to care, only swallowed them down greedily and made a noise somewhere between a growl and purr from deep in his chest. His efforts were increasing with each passing heartbeat, and the fire mage seemed to be unconsciously pinning his guildmate to the wall with his own hips.

Gray still couldn’t quite grasp it. There had to be some mistake. Natsu had shoved him against a wall, smelled him, licked and bit him, kissed him, and Gray had loved it. Had kissed him back. It was turning hotter, hands groping and becoming far more adventurous with each needy noise and scrape of teeth.

They were really here, weren’t they? Making out. He could almost hear Lucy’s squeals of delight, Erza’s shocked gasp, the celestial mage’s shout of:

“OH MY GODS, THEY’RE KISSING.” Gray’s eyes flew open as Natsu stiffened against him.

They both turned slowly, eyes widening at the sight of a stumbling Erza and over-excited Lucy. The redhead looked  _ pissed. _

She wasn’t…  _ drunk _ , was she?

Shit.

She was

Natsu’s gaze shifted toward Gray, eyes meeting and reflecting the ice mage’s own feelings of pure, unadulterated terror. He could hear the armor mage’s deep intake of breath, and braced himself.

Shit. Shit shitshitshit _ shitshitshi- _

“NATSU, GRAY!” The furious bellow only further assured their death by an angry Erza. They both took off down the alley at a dead sprint, in a futile attempt to escape the pounding of all too familiar boot-clad feet.

He felt more than saw the flash of magic as Erza requipped into her Flight armor, and knew they were both totally fucked. She was serious, and he was fairly certain that neither he nor Natsu were going to get out of this one fully intact.

The last thing Gray saw before he was grabbed by his neck and spun around only to be slammed violently to the ground was Lucy, hand held to her bleeding nose as she filmed the whole ordeal on her communication lacrima while laughing uncontrollably.

Thankfully his vision was going black, but he knew that losing consciousness would only provide a temporary escape from the wrath of the Titania and the humiliation sure to be dished out by his guildmates.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay!   
> First, I need to apologize. I know I had said I would publish midway through August, but that obviously didn't happen. And I'm so incredibly sorry for that, but life happens. I've got a lot going on with school and my health right now, and while I love to write for this fandom, it just doesn't happen as much as I'd like it to.   
> That being said, I've gotten into a rhythm (Ha! I'm hilarious) and my life is settling down again. Updates will be once a month on the 22nd, without fail. If I've got time and the motivation, there might be an update or two between scheduled postings.  
> But again, I am so so so sorry I disappeared for the last two months. I'd like to thank everyone who left me supportive comments and messages. You motivated me to set aside some time tonight (I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow...) and get this chapter posted.  
> Thank you all so much!  
>  -Esti

Natsu’s head really fucking hurt. And whatever was repetitively poking him in the cheek was certainly not helping. Easy solution.

He found its pattern, waited for the next poke, and quick as lightning, snapped down onto it.

“OW, NA-!” The shout cut off as Natsu cracked open one eye.

Gray had his hand clapped over Loke’s mouth, the Lion spirit waving his now-bleeding finger around angrily and making muffled noises that sounded a lot like curses behind Gray’s fingers. The ice mage was nearly naked, clad only in a pair of boxers. His abdominals flowed like water beneath his skin as he fought to restrain the ginger writhing in his arms. 

Natsu opened his other eye, propping his head on a fist, to watch the ‘V’ of Gray’s hips disappear into black fabric. Let his gaze travel back up the faint trail of hair to his bellybutton, and up over the sculpted panes of his stomach to those taught pectorals, and-

“ _ Quiet!  _ If you make enough noise,  _ she’ll _ hear, and come in to chew us out and beat our asses!” Gray hissed the words out, and Loke immediately stopped struggling as his eyes grew. He was still cradling his hurt finger, but Gray uncovered his mouth and hastily scooted away. He proceeded to make a disgusted grimace before darting forward once more and wiping his hand on Loke’s jacket.

The spirit sent him an indignant look before shooting a glare in Natsu’s direction. The dragonslayer smirked and licked the Lion’s blood from one of his canines. He didn’t miss the slight intake of breath from Gray’s direction.

“Yo, Loke.”

“You need to file your dragon’s teeth, Gray.” His face was twisted into a sneer, and Natsu felt that if he had a tail, Loke would be lashing it back and forth. He barely restrained a snort of laughter.

“Don’t act like you’re not into it, you son of a bitch. Flaming fuckwad over there is awake now. Why the hell are you here?.” Gray had raised his voice from a whisper, though barely. Low, throaty and somewhat melodious. It did… interesting things to Natsu’s insides.

But that could wait. He couldn’t see much past the spirit and ice mage from where he was currently lying, so he pushed himself into a crouch and tuned out Loke’s explanation. He knew why he was here. He’d listen the the Lion’s findings after figuring out where they were.

The room was dim. Not dark, but certainly not well lit. Nondescript and void of any furnishings. There was only one window, placed high upon the wall, that light filtered through. Were they underground?

One sniff told him, yes. Probably in the same town as the club had been. Some local law enforcement’s excuse for a holding cell, most likely. He could scent Erza, though it seemed to be a few hours old. Lucy too, and… Lucy’s blood? There was no terror lingering in the air, so it must not have been a cause for concern.

Deciding that was all there was to know about their location, he returned his attention to Loke and Gray. The ice mage looked mildly irritated, but that was nothing special. Loke was obviously trying not to laugh, and both had their eyes locked on him.

“What?” Natsu’s voice came out guarded, cautious. Loke laughing while looking at him was never a good thing; he had learned.

“Did you seriously make Loke stay behind in that nightclub after you burned it down to find out who won that stupid competition?” Gray sounded exasperated. 

“I didn’t  _ make  _ him do anything! When I told him what I wanted him to do, he agreed readily!”

“How did you even know before-hand that we wouldn’t be around to find out what the results were?”

“I didn-”

“ _ MAVIS, _ NATSU!”

“Gray, I-”

“Did you fucking  _ plan _ to burn the club down?!”

“Of course not, yo-”

“THAT’S FUCKING ARSON!”

“Look, Gray! I swea-”

“ERZA IS LITERALLY GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE.”

“GRAY!” Natsu bellowed in the ice mage’s face. Both of them blinked, only now noticing how close they had scooted. Natsu became acutely aware of Loke’s howling laughter through his burning ears.

Gray flung himself backwards, cheeks burning. Before the dragonslayer could say anything in his own defense, Loke spoke up between gasping breaths still trembling with unspent laughter.

“Oi. He really didn’t  _ plan _ to set the club on fire. He actually thought ahead for once, and figured something or other would go wrong. Which is where I come in.” 

Gray looked placated. For half a moment, until his flush returned darker than before and Natsu could hear his pulse racing from several feet away.

“Y-you mean…” Gray gulped, eyes widening and his hand coming up to open buttons on his shirt. They found only bare skin, and fell back to the ground.

“Yup.  _ Ice Prince _ . I saw you dance,” Loke’s eyes flashed behind his shades, and Natsu bared his teeth in the Lion’s direction. 

“Well. That’s. Uh” Gray still looked flustered, though he was back to glaring coldly. 

“Slightly embarassing?” Loke grinned a little, and put a bit more distance between himself and the ice mage. Natsu lowered his lip and settled back down into his crouch.

“Why would it be embarassing, Gray? Not like you don’t strip in front of the entire guild on an hourly basis, anyway,” The dragonslayer understood, at least a little, why that might be different from a striptease in a gay club. But it wasn’t like Loke couldn’t be trusted, wasn’t one of their odd famil-

“It’s kind of awkward to do a stripdance in front of someone you used to fuck, Natsu.” Gray practically snarled the words at him, and Natsu’s jaw dropped in surprise. Loke laughed.

Okay, so, he hadn’t been expecting  _ that _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It's short, and I didn't get a chance to edit. I've gotta get packing now, but let me know if something sticks out or sounds wrong. I'll fix it as soon as I'm able to.
> 
> Also, if you're interested in proof-reading or editing this fic, let me know! Even if it's just one chapter, it'll save me time in posting the next update.
> 
> (>^-^


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